Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Theme: AI, Big Data and Statistics: Transforming Economic Growth Sectors in Developing Countries

Venue: University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business
and Marriott Hotel, Cape Town

27 - 28 May 2026

The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data technologies, and modern statistical methodologies offers unprecedented opportunities for accelerating economic growth, transforming industries, and improving governance in developing countries. However, gaps remain between theory and practical implementation, as well as between private-sector innovation and academic research. Join policymakers, industry experts, innovators, scholars, and data professionals for a transformative two-day conference designed to bridge the gap between practical application and academic research.

To begin to address the challenges outlined above, the Africagrowth Institute, in partnership universities, major technology institutions, governments IT/Statistical Services and other organisations, are organising a 2-day conference to discuss critical issues around big data, applied statistics/computing and artificial intelligence in Cape Town (South Africa) on 27-28 May 2026.

The conference will focus (not exclusively) on the following:

Topics will include issues around the following
Big Data Infrastructure and Analytics. Foundations and theoretical advances in AI and Machine Learning (ML). Data fusion for national statistics and economic forecasting. AI fairness and bias mitigation in developing contexts.	Bayesian models for economic forecasting. Ethics, Policy, and responsible AI usage. Statistical methods for incomplete and biased datasets. Deep learning approaches in low-resource languages. Explainable AI for ethical and transparent governance. Industrial applications of AI and ML: Case studies
Who should attend
Academics Data Scientists and Analysts Other Researchers Technology Professionals Industry Experts and Consultants Other Policy Makers	Postgraduate Students AI Researchers and Practitioners Government Statisticians and IT Specialists Entrepreneurs and Start-ups Foundations and Funding Agencies Youth and Women Development Agencies

Conference Coordination
Topics and all other admin-related questions should be to be addressed to Dina at dina@africagrowth.com.

Fees
Conference Fee is from $250 for non-presenters and $300 for academic presenters. The fee will cover lunches, tea/coffee breaks with snacks, venue hire and admin cost.

Deadline for submission of abstracts and full conference registration 17 April 2026.

The Conference organizing committee includes: Professor Nicholas Biekpe (Conference Chair), Dina Potgieter (Executive Manager)

All scientific questions to be addressed to Professor Biekpe: nicholas@africagrowth.com

Abstract, paper submission and all other questions to be addressed to Dina Potgieter: info@africagrowth.com.........

Our website:
www.africagrowth.com

Our telephone:
+27 21 914 6778/6769